Production of 6-chloro-o-cresol



Patented Nov. 17, 1953 PRODUCTION OF G-CHLORO-O-CRESOL John W. Zemba, Midland, Micln, assignor to The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., a

corporation of Delaware No Drawing; Application December 28, 1950,

- Serial No. 202,799

1 Claim.

valuable 6-chloro-o-cresol and 4-chloro-o-cresol plus small amounts of dichloro-o-cresols. It is desirable to minimize the yield of dichloro-o-cresols by using an amount of chlorine insufilcient to eifect monochlorination of all the o-cresol employed; accordingly, a substantial amount of unreacted o-cresol remains after chlorination.

However, although the 4-chloro-o-cresol-can be recovered in pure form by fractional distillation of the reaction mixture, both the 6-chloro -ocresol and the o-cresol boil at about 191 C. at 760 mm. Hg so that recovery of the desired 6- chloro-o-cresol in pure form is diillcult.

The present invention is based upon the discovery of a method for chlorinating o-cresol according to which both fi-chloro-o-cresol and 4- chloro-o-cresol are readily recovered in pure form by distillation.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a method for chlorinating o-cresol which permits the recovery by distillation of 6- chloro-o-cresol.

A further object is to provide a method of recovering pure fi-chloro-o-cresol from a mixture thereof with o-cresol.

According to the invention o-cresol is treat with from 0.9 to 0.99 mol of chlorine per mol of o-cresol to produce a mixture of chlorinated products including i-chloro-o-cresol. dichloro-ocresols, 6-chloro-o-cresol and unreacted o-cresol. At least the two last-named compounds are then recovered from the mixture by fractional distillation. The 6-chloro-o-cresol-o-cresol mixture is then treated with one mol of chlorine per mol of o cresol therein at a temperature from 35 to 60 C. to chlorinate the o-cresol to fi-chloro-o-cresol and 4-chloro-o-cresol. These products are then separated in pure form by fractional distillation.

According to another embodiment of the invention a mixture comprising G-chloro-o-cresol and o-cresol is treated with one mol of chlorine per mol of o-cresol therein at a temperature from 35 to 60 C. to chlorinate the o-cresol to 6-chloroo-cresol and 4-chloro-o-cresol. These products are then separated in pure form by fractional distillation.

In carrying out either chlorination step of the method of the invention it is essential that a temperature between 35 and C. be employed, as indicated above. At a temperature lower than about 35 C. crystallization of o-cresol makes chlorination impracticable. At a temperature higher than about 60 C. dichlorination proceeds to such an extent that the yield of the desired 6- chloro-o-cresol and 4-chloro-o-cresol is decreased unreasonably. It is also essential that the mol ratio of, chlorine to o-cresol' be from 0.9:1 to 0.99:1 when the latter is chlorinated alone. When the ratio of chlorine used is within the above limits, a substantial portion of the o-cresol employed is chlorinated, and dichlorination is minimized. When a mixture of fi-chloro-o-cresol and o-cresol is chlorinated according to the invention it is important to use the amount of chlorine theoretically necessary to monochlorinate theo-cresol in the mixture. Dichlorination does not proceed to a substantial extent, and essentially all the o-cresol is chlorinated so that the final separation can be effected.

The rate of chlorine additionis not critical;- it

can be added as fast as it is absorbed by the solution being chlorinated.

Fractional distillation is carried out in the process or the invention in the usual way. A reasonably efficient column is required.

The following example illustrates a preferred way of carrying out the process of the invention, but is to be construed as illustrative rather than limitative:

Example Chlorine, at a rate of 5 to 6 pounds per hour; was bubbled into 440 pounds (4.05 pound moles) of o-cresol maintained at a temperature from 50 to 55C. in a Pfaudler kettle. HCl generated by chlorination of the o-cresol was passed through an exit tube leaving the Pfaudler kettle ple of the dried product was fractionated, using a 10:1 reflux ratio, to effect a crude separation. The products recovered consisted of 5 pounds of water, 74 pounds of a mixture of 6-chloroo-cresol and unreacted o-cresol, plus a trace of 4,6-dichloro-o-cresol, and 106 pounds of 4- in the kettle.

chloro-o-cresol. The 6-chloro-o-cresol-o-cresol. mixture could not be resolved by fractionation. It was found to contain about 10 per cent of ocresol. This fractionation out was combined with other cuts of essentially the same composition produced as described above, and a 323 pound sample of the resulting mixture (containing about 0.46 pound moi of o-cresol) was placed in a Pfaudler kettle, and heated to a temperature from 50 to 55 C. Chlorine, at a rate of 5 to 6 pounds per hour, was bubbled into the mixture The chlorine addition was continued for 6 hours until a total of 33 pounds of chlorine (0.47 pound moi) had been bubbled into the mixture. Air was then blown through the reaction mixture as described above, which was then washed with 20 gallons of water. The organic layer was separated, washed with an additional 20 pounds of water, and separated from the second wash water. The total recovery I of organic material was 815 pounds. A 311 pound portion of this material was placed in the "still contained 24.83 per cent of chlorine (theory 24.87).

I claim:

A method of preparing substantially pure 6- chloro-o-cresol which comprises (1) treating 0- cresol with from 90 to 99 mol per cent thereof of chlorine at a temperature from 35 to 60 C. to produce a mixture consisting essentially of 4- chloro-o-cresol, fi-chloro-o-cresol, dichloro-ocresols and unreacted' o-cresol, (2) subjecting this mixture to fractional distillation to separate a fraction consisting essentially of 6-ch10ro-ocresol and o-cresol and substantiallyfree of 4- chloro-o-cresol and dichlorocresols, (3) treatin this fraction with chlorine in a proportion equimolar to the o-cresol therein at a temperature'from 35 to 60 C. to chlorinate the ocresol, and (4 subjecting the resulting chlorinated fraction to fractional distillation to separate substantially pure 6-chloro-o-cresol.

JOHN W. ZEMBA.

Name Date Foster Jan. 17, 1950 Number 

